Abstract:

In today's fast-changing world, characterized by a technology-driven society, digital literacy has emerged as a crucial competence. Consequently, digital literacy plays a key role in the educational context, demanding that professionals in the field of education actively develop their digital skills and knowledge. Our research focuses on early childhood education (ECE) teachers and assistant teachers, who play an important role in establishing the foundations for children's digital literacy development and in preparing children for successful involvement in the digital society. We aimed to investigate the level of motivation among ECE teachers and assistants to acquire new skills, both in general and in the field of digital literacy. Furthermore, our research sought to gain insight into their confidence in acquiring and applying new skills, both generally and within the realm of digital literacy. Additionally, we aimed to explore their attitudes towards digital technology. The research was carried out in the framework of the project 'Enrolment in early childhood education: factor ensuring equal opportunities in the development of an individual and society, and lifelong learning (J5-3099)', funded by the Slovenian Research Agency. The research was conducted among 458 ECE teachers and assistants working in Slovenian kindergartens in the 2022/2023 school year. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The findings revealed that ECE teachers and assistants perceive themselves as motivated to acquire new skills, both in general and in the domain of digital literacy. They also believe that they can learn new skills both in general and in the field of digital literacy and that they can apply them in their professional work. There was a positive, moderate, and statistically significant correlation between the perceptions of teachers and assistants on motivation to acquire new skills and perceptions on motivation to acquire new skills in digital literacy. A positive, high, and statistically significant correlation was also found between the perceptions on the ability to learn new skills and to use these skills in pedagogical practice and the perceptions on the ability to learn new skills in digital literacy and to use these skills in pedagogical practice. We also find that the majority have positive attitudes towards digital technology. The study highlights the importance of developing digital literacy among ECE teachers and assistants.

Keywords:

Digital literacy, attitude towards technology, skills, early childhood education teacher, kindergarten.